Growth of Inspire Madison Region Program Reveals Demand for Workers in Key Sectors

Source: Inspire Madison Region Platform & Emsi

The Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP) today announced the results of
Inspire Madison Region's assessment of the 2017-2018 school year.
Inspire Madison Region serves a dual purpose: to connect students with regional companies to help these students refine their future occupational goals and to facilitate a means for companies in the Madison Region to take an active role in building their future workforce by connecting with these students.

Inspire Madison Region, the web-based interactive workforce development platform administered by MadREP and available in all public-school districts in the Region, continues its growth trajectory. Currently, nearly 1700 career coaches and over 1300 companies offering more than 5750 experiential learning activities are available for 76,000+ Madison Region students to connect to for career exploration activities.

A review of student interest vs projected areas of growth in the Region suggests the growth of jobs will outpace potential workers entering the workforce in several sectors, most notably Information Technology, Transportation Distribution & Logistics and Hospitality & Tourism. Conversely, the data also suggests interest outpaces available employment in several sectors, including Arts, A/V Technology & Communications, Education & Training and STEM Careers.

The United States, Mexico, and Canada concluded negotiations for a trade agreement to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on September 30, 2018.

The pact includes higher rules-of-origin requirements for the auto sector, a Mexican commitment to higher wages in a portion of its supply chain work and a scale-back of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) rules. The thing that will most impact Wisconsin will be the marginally greater access to the Canadian dairy market. The whole deal will be trumpeted by the President as a major win but, in fact, the biggest benefit from the new USMCA is that it is settled (although still to be ratified) thus eliminating all of the uncertainty that has surrounded trade with our two largest partners. Putting uncertainty to rest and creating a template for negotiation with other partners, and adversaries, around the world will allow business to better plan, budget and manage for the future. Hopefully, we will see the administration embrace more free trade opportunities going forward.

For additional details or to read the agreement in its entirety, visit the Office of the United States Trade Representative's
website.

A Greater Madison Vision Survey

Please take this brief survey. Your input will help local leaders shape the plan for the area's future.

Over the next 25 years this region's population is expected to grow by over 150,000 people. We'll also need to adapt to driverless cars, a changing climate, artificial intelligence and job automation, political polarization, growing inequality, and a doubling of the aging population.

Change is happening fast and because these changes will affect our lives, we need to prepare and plan. "This survey demonstrates the significant choices we'll need to make to accommodate projected growth in this region," said MadREP President Paul Jadin.

A Greater Madison Vision is a regional effort to do just that: create a plan for successful growth and development as change occurs over the next few decades.

The survey takes approximately 10 minutes and shows four possible futures for the area. Throughout the survey Fast Facts links provide more information.

Two-year institutions prove to be attractive options for students joining workforce

Gene Dalhoff, vice president of Talent and Education of the Madison Regional Economic Partnership, noted the knowledge of college programs that students receive prior to college is detrimental to deciding whether they would rather join the workforce or further their education.

"I do believe that within many of our school districts there is an increasing effort to expose individual students to post-secondary education and career opportunities that may be a better fit for them," Dalhoff said.

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced in a press conference Thursday $320,000 will be added to Dane County's two-year-old emergency mobile mental crisis program in 2019.

The increase in funding will result in a total budget of $425,000 annually for the program, which Parisi originally announced in 2016. The increased funds will be used to hire additional mental health professionals, expand treatment and recovery programs and put Narcan in more businesses in the county.

When Kevin Conroy first got a phone call asking him to take over Exact Sciences as its CEO in 2009, he was skeptical. The Boston biotech company was 12 years old, had no product to market or revenue source, and had anemic stock value.

But after looking into the promising research on stool-based cancer screening that the company was staking its future on, he decided he would take a chance.

Apple won its appeal of a patent infringement case brought against the company in 2014 by the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. A federal appellate court in Washington, D.C., threw out part of the $506 million in damages originally awarded to the university by a federal court in Madison. It's unclear how much has been thrown out.

Madison bike sellers brace as new tariffs could push up prices by 25 percent

If you're thinking about buying a new bicycle, you might not want to put it off very long.

That's because additional Trump administration tariffs of $200 billion on Chinese goods that went into effect Monday includes tariffs on bicycles. The tariffs on bikes, as well as parts and accessories, impose a 10 percent tax, which will rise to 25 percent by the end of the year.

The tariffs will hit especially hard in Wisconsin, home to such industry giants as Trek, Pacific Cycle, Saris Cycling Group and Planet Bike.

BioForward's annual Biohealth Summit serves as a platform for Wisconsin's biohealth community to celebrate our successes and collaborate on what's next for our booming industry.

Last year they had over 400 attendees, kicked off a women's initiative, hosted a professional development track, and welcomed two keynotes from the technology industry that highlighted the shift in healthcare innovation.

Inclusive Leadership: Embracing Diversity in the Workplace, October 11

An inclusive work culture promotes innovation, productivity and profitability.

In this session, we will discuss the leadership role in embracing diversity, inclusion and equality within their organization, the characteristics of Highly Inclusive Leaders and examine the impact of trust and unconscious bias.

Topics will be covered through discussions, self-assessment and activities.

M+DEV is a video game development conference for professional game developers and those seeking to become professional game developers.

This conference provides a gathering place for game developers in the state, the region and beyond to discuss and share the latest information on the science, art, mechanics and business of making games.

M+DEV is for anyone who is currently a professional video game developer or contractor, or who wishes to become one.

WEDC, sponsoring with SBA STEP, will fund 4 companies to participate in the Medical Japan expo on February 20-222, 2019 in Osaka, Japan. Looking for exporters that service end users in hospitals, rehab facilities, clinics, elderly-care facilities, labs, etc.

WEDC will cover the expenses of a mini booth, booth graphics, show marketing, and interpreters.